Glasgow car dealers in the 60's -70's
Discussion
IainW said:
Somebody mentioned Lanark. Was there a Ford garage there at some point? An old work colleague of mine said he worked at a Ford garage in Lanark when he did his apprenticeship many years ago.
I think the FORD sign is still on the side of the building opposite the ESSO petrol station, which is the old Ladyacre Peugeot workshop. I thought it was a FORD tractor garage? Now I think about it, there was a County Ford garage out Hyndford road too, on the right hand side as you headed toward the loch from Lanark. It's sister garage was at the top of Chapel St in Carluke, which is now a shop.Just read that Border Cars have taken over the Glen Henderson Mazda dealership in Ayr following Glen Hendersons retirement and theyve already added a Mitsubishi franchise. Another showroom kept out of evil Arnolds hands. Not sure whats happening with their bodyshop, the Mercedes/Smart franchised service centre or the Glen Henderson Caledonian Trucks Mercedes Commercials dealership.
Anyway it brought me to think about when GH were a lot bigger in the 80s before they hit financial troubles. Did they not have a few showrooms in Glasgow, mainly for high end stuff like Porsche, Maserati and Ferrari which were eventually taken over by Glenvarigill? Including one in Bearsden which i think is what the current Porsche place at Braehead began as?
Anyway it brought me to think about when GH were a lot bigger in the 80s before they hit financial troubles. Did they not have a few showrooms in Glasgow, mainly for high end stuff like Porsche, Maserati and Ferrari which were eventually taken over by Glenvarigill? Including one in Bearsden which i think is what the current Porsche place at Braehead began as?
HendryG said:
Take it that was in the days before Alfa Romeo and Lancia were only sold in Fiat dealerships?
Yes, Long before.I think it was into the mid 80's when Fiat and Lancia started sharing dealerships, then into the 90's when Alfa Romeo joined in. This is when Anold Clark got his claws into the Italian Marques.
HendryG said:
Just read that Border Cars have taken over the Glen Henderson Mazda dealership in Ayr following Glen Hendersons retirement and theyve already added a Mitsubishi franchise. Another showroom kept out of evil Arnolds hands. Not sure whats happening with their bodyshop, the Mercedes/Smart franchised service centre or the Glen Henderson Caledonian Trucks Mercedes Commercials dealership.
Anyway it brought me to think about when GH were a lot bigger in the 80s before they hit financial troubles. Did they not have a few showrooms in Glasgow, mainly for high end stuff like Porsche, Maserati and Ferrari which were eventually taken over by Glenvarigill? Including one in Bearsden which i think is what the current Porsche place at Braehead began as?
I think that the Commercial side of things has been taken over by T.O.M.Anyway it brought me to think about when GH were a lot bigger in the 80s before they hit financial troubles. Did they not have a few showrooms in Glasgow, mainly for high end stuff like Porsche, Maserati and Ferrari which were eventually taken over by Glenvarigill? Including one in Bearsden which i think is what the current Porsche place at Braehead began as?
Dumbuck Garage (Dumbarton) It was owned by Jackie Stewart's parents. I think it as a Jaguar dealership back in the 60's.
I did stop in once with my father in 73 - 74, don't remmeber what he went in to look at. I spent the whole time drooling over a Mk1 Escort RS1600 with bubble arches in Blue & white works colours, there was no convincing the old man the £2250 on an almost two year old Escort was a good buy.
ian2144 said:
Dumbuck Garage (Dumbarton) It was owned by Jackie Stewart's parents. I think it as a Jaguar dealership back in the 60's.
I did stop in once with my father in 73 - 74, don't remmeber what he went in to look at. I spent the whole time drooling over a Mk1 Escort RS1600 with bubble arches in Blue & white works colours, there was no convincing the old man the £2250 on an almost two year old Escort was a good buy.
Thought Jackie once owned it a bit earlier . Seem to rember passing Dumbuck cross roads with late dad ,and he mentioned it .( Or was it one of my uncles ,and that would put it further back).I did stop in once with my father in 73 - 74, don't remmeber what he went in to look at. I spent the whole time drooling over a Mk1 Escort RS1600 with bubble arches in Blue & white works colours, there was no convincing the old man the £2250 on an almost two year old Escort was a good buy.
In the 60 /70's there was a choice - Anrold,or Arnold . Apart from one little place ( can't remember the name) with a Mini dealership, and a good deal in new minis( specially vans ).Somewhere down near Anderston,if memory serves .
.Just the thing for a twenty something year old . Still love that car (well van) ,but it had a carpeted and soundproofed rear and a formica dash ,with an oil pressure and Ammeter either side of the speedo .
Confirmation that Halleys is now an Arnold Clark branch, but run by a Halley still. http://www.arnoldclark.com/vauxhall/milngavie/
Went past Archers/Arch of Airdrie earlier and it's gone. Replaced by TOM commercial vehicles.
Went past Archers/Arch of Airdrie earlier and it's gone. Replaced by TOM commercial vehicles.
Edited by IainW on Monday 12th March 01:17
IainW said:
Confirmation that Halleys is now an Arnold Clark branch, but run by a Halley still. http://www.arnoldclark.com/vauxhall/milngavie/
Went past Archers/Arch of Airdrie earlier and it's gone. Replaced by TOM commercial vehicles.
Archers Suzuki? It was there not that long ago, in the recent high winds they suffered some damage.Went past Archers/Arch of Airdrie earlier and it's gone. Replaced by TOM commercial vehicles.
Edited by IainW on Monday 12th March 01:17
That TOM Commercial vehicles have fair grown - I remember they used to be based down a side street in Airdrie and they also did car alarms (had one fitted to my Citroen ZX) so about 1995 ish? At that point I think they just had a few vans that they hired out.
Craigie said:
Archers Suzuki? It was there not that long ago, in the recent high winds they suffered some damage.
That TOM Commercial vehicles have fair grown - I remember they used to be based down a side street in Airdrie and they also did car alarms (had one fitted to my Citroen ZX) so about 1995 ish? At that point I think they just had a few vans that they hired out.
Yes it's all TOM now on that site. I was down Carlisle Road the other week and it was still Archers at that point. That TOM Commercial vehicles have fair grown - I remember they used to be based down a side street in Airdrie and they also did car alarms (had one fitted to my Citroen ZX) so about 1995 ish? At that point I think they just had a few vans that they hired out.
Pistons and Components was on the low odd numbers on GWR and I could never figure why a shop had two branches within a dozen shops of each other. One had at least four windows, counting round the corner.
I remember one of the Prosser brothers, he was the shorter one and used to train in Bellahouston Sports Centre gym in the early 80s.
For old car dealers, how about...
Park Autos, on Dumbreck Road, Glasgow: removed to build the M77. It was an Austin Morris dealership, and owned by a guy from Pollokshields called Ronnie Grant, who also owned the petrol station on Hawkhead Road in Paisley.
Gaulds of Glasgow, a Rolls Royce and Ford dealership, from Maryhill and Halfway in Glasgow, and Stewarton. The Halfway one became an Arnold Clark, but then closed. Who says a recession is always a bad thing!
:-)
I remember one of the Prosser brothers, he was the shorter one and used to train in Bellahouston Sports Centre gym in the early 80s.
For old car dealers, how about...
Park Autos, on Dumbreck Road, Glasgow: removed to build the M77. It was an Austin Morris dealership, and owned by a guy from Pollokshields called Ronnie Grant, who also owned the petrol station on Hawkhead Road in Paisley.
Gaulds of Glasgow, a Rolls Royce and Ford dealership, from Maryhill and Halfway in Glasgow, and Stewarton. The Halfway one became an Arnold Clark, but then closed. Who says a recession is always a bad thing!
:-)
Archers/Arch Suzuki/whatever its called, the reason the Airdrie branch has shut down and became TOM is because theyve built a new showroom in East Kilbride next to the huge Park's one and Evans Halshaw Vauxhall at the Whirlies, its now called Arch @ The Whirlies and is now a Proton dealer rather than Suzuki (probably owing to the fact that Park's next door already run the Suzuki franchise)
Also, my missus says she passed by Arnold Clark Renault on Peat Road in Nitshill - the last remaining former Peat Road Motors building - and its empty, no cars etc. this must be recent as i passed by last week and it was business as usual, possibly to do with Renault announcing earlier this year they were going to be getting rid of half the dealer network, it wasnt making money, or itd been planned for a while.
RE: Gaulds, didnt know they ran a Ford dealership in Stewarton, i do recall a Ford dealership in Stewarton called MacFadzeans which such in the mid to late 90s - possibly the same one?
Im also informed that Gaulds in its later days before selling the Garscube road dealership to Arnolds, also owned Dalblairs the Ford dealership in Ayr, Strathford the Ford dealer in Kilmarnock and Inglis Jaguar in Ayr, hence how Arnold acquired them, as he bought Gaulds for the dealership on Garscube road to put his Vauxhall franchise from St Georges road into when the existing Vauxhall dealership gained the Lexus franchise and he gained those in the process.
Also, my missus says she passed by Arnold Clark Renault on Peat Road in Nitshill - the last remaining former Peat Road Motors building - and its empty, no cars etc. this must be recent as i passed by last week and it was business as usual, possibly to do with Renault announcing earlier this year they were going to be getting rid of half the dealer network, it wasnt making money, or itd been planned for a while.
RE: Gaulds, didnt know they ran a Ford dealership in Stewarton, i do recall a Ford dealership in Stewarton called MacFadzeans which such in the mid to late 90s - possibly the same one?
Im also informed that Gaulds in its later days before selling the Garscube road dealership to Arnolds, also owned Dalblairs the Ford dealership in Ayr, Strathford the Ford dealer in Kilmarnock and Inglis Jaguar in Ayr, hence how Arnold acquired them, as he bought Gaulds for the dealership on Garscube road to put his Vauxhall franchise from St Georges road into when the existing Vauxhall dealership gained the Lexus franchise and he gained those in the process.
HendryG said:
Archers/Arch Suzuki/whatever its called, the reason the Airdrie branch has shut down and became TOM is because theyve built a new showroom in East Kilbride next to the huge Park's one and Evans Halshaw Vauxhall at the Whirlies, its now called Arch @ The Whirlies and is now a Proton dealer rather than Suzuki (probably owing to the fact that Park's next door already run the Suzuki franchise)
Surprised at them moving so far out of the area. They've been at Carlisle Road for as long as I can remember. Didn't think there was too much money in Protons to justify a new showroom, but I might be wrong.Although its a new showroom it's an existing building which has from the looks of it been in existence for a while as its covered in graffiti at the back and there's no Proton signage on the building itself just one of those 15ft-ish tall stand up signs with the manufacturer logo and dealer name on that usually stand at the entrance to a dealers premises.
I think they must be owned by TOM now as its all TOM vans and waste management skips round the rear of the building.
As an aside, regarding Suzuki dealers, Parks in Coatbridge have replaced Nissan with Suzuki alongside Renault,
I was also told Parks Renault in Irvine is building 3 new showrooms for new Nissan, Suzuki and Fiat alongside the existing Renault one and that Verve in Kilmarnock are closing their branches on Campbell St as they are still owned by Bickets and relocating back to their old premises in Crookedholm with Mazda and Seat with the old Mazda site becoming SsangYong as they've now lost the Fiat, Hyundai, Suzuki, Chrysler, Jeep franchises
I think they must be owned by TOM now as its all TOM vans and waste management skips round the rear of the building.
As an aside, regarding Suzuki dealers, Parks in Coatbridge have replaced Nissan with Suzuki alongside Renault,
I was also told Parks Renault in Irvine is building 3 new showrooms for new Nissan, Suzuki and Fiat alongside the existing Renault one and that Verve in Kilmarnock are closing their branches on Campbell St as they are still owned by Bickets and relocating back to their old premises in Crookedholm with Mazda and Seat with the old Mazda site becoming SsangYong as they've now lost the Fiat, Hyundai, Suzuki, Chrysler, Jeep franchises
HendryG said:
I was also told Parks Renault in Irvine is building 3 new showrooms for new Nissan, Suzuki and Fiat alongside the existing Renault one and that Verve in Kilmarnock are closing their branches on Campbell St as they are still owned by Bickets and relocating back to their old premises in Crookedholm with Mazda and Seat with the old Mazda site becoming SsangYong as they've now lost the Fiat, Hyundai, Suzuki, Chrysler, Jeep franchises
Not sure what Parks are up to there, but there is a LOT of building going on, I passed it last week. (Strangely I have a history of the place, helping to resurrect it after the old AFG days)Interesting stuff ref Verve in Campbell St Kilmarnock. It just seems to be a mish mash of brands over both sides of the road. It would not surprise me 1 bit if the Manufacturers are not happy with it.
HendryG said:
RE: Gaulds, didnt know they ran a Ford dealership in Stewarton, i do recall a Ford dealership in Stewarton called MacFadzeans which such in the mid to late 90s - possibly the same one?
The same one, as you say, taken over by John MacFadzean. We worked together for a while, he was a top bloke! (This was in Ayr, after the demise of his business due to personal reasons)Gassing Station | Scotland | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff